June 10 – 11, 1967

For the benefit of the Hunter’s Point Child Care Center

The Sons of Champlin, “Freedom”Recorded Live: 8/16/1968, San Francisco, CA

Whether the Woodstock Music and Art Fair in 1969 was the greatest festival ever held is open to debate. Perhaps.

Whether it was the most important festival ever held?

Likely.

Fantasy Fair Magic Mountain Music Festival

Woodstock not the first

It certainly wasn’t the first rock festival.

Indoor multi-day rock events began in the 50s, but it wasn’t until the late 60s that the multi-day outdoor rock festival, featuring more than just a series short sets by musicians playing their big hits, happened.

Fantasy Fair Magic Mountain Music Festival

Monterey International Pop Music Festival

Usually the Monterey International Pop Music Festival gets the nod for being the first of the later type, but the Fantasy Fair and Magic Mountain Music Festival occurred a week before. The line-up for the KFRC-sponsored event looks pretty good, too.

Day 1 (Saturday 10 June)

The Charlatans

Mount Rushmore

Rodger Collins

Dionne Warwick

The Doors

The Lamp of Childhood

Canned Heat

Jim Kweskin Jug Band

Spanky and Our Gang

Blackburn & Snow

The Sparrow

Every Mother’s Son

Kaleidoscope

The Chocolate Watchband

The Mojo Men

The Merry-Go-Round

Day 2 (Sunday 11 June)

Sons of Champlin

Jefferson Airplane

The Byrds w/ Hugh Masekela

P. F. Sloan

Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band

The Seeds

The Grass Roots

The Loading Zone

Tim Buckley

Every Mother’s Son

Steve Miller Blues Band

Country Joe and the Fish

The 5th Dimension

The Lamp of Childhood

The Mystery Trend

Penny Nichols

The Merry-Go-Round

New Salvation Army Band

Fantasy Fair Magic Mountain Music Festival

While I will admit ignorance of many of the names themselves and of those bands whose names I do recognize that I am not familiar with any of their particular songs of their

A few are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I’ve underlined those who would play at Woodstock.

Fantasy Fair Magic Mountain Music Festival

Little documentation

Unfortunately for the Fantasy Fair and Magic Mountain Music Festival (and like so many other festivals), no worthwhile recordings of the music or the event apparently exist. There is a silent blurry hand-held camera film of the Doors performing (whose name does not appear on the poster), but little else.

There is an interesting connection between the Fantasy Fair and Woodstock. Mel Lawrence was Fantasy’s co-producer and he became Woodstock’s operation manager.

Mel Lawrence

Fantasy Fair Magic Mountain Music Festival

Charitable festival

You will also have noticed that the event was for the benefit of the Hunter’s Point Child Care Center, thus preceding George Harrison and Ravi Shankar’s Concert for Bangladesh by four years.

The Hells Angels “volunteered” to be security and with some reluctance the organizers approved their “request.” Fortunately, their presence worked out OK and without any incident. You cans see some of their bikes parked in the following picture:

Photo by Henry Diltz

Here is a link to a 2014 Rolling Stone magazine article on the event. RS interviewed many of the attendees, performers, and organizers

Fantasy Fair Magic Mountain Music Festival

Drew Willis

Drew Willis via Facebook: I still have the flyer, map, that was given out. Lists all of the performers with a layout of the surrounding attractions up there on Tam.

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2 thoughts on “Fantasy Fair Magic Mountain Music Festival”

I’m not exactly sure but I understand that the Hell’s Angels did security at a number of venues including at least one of Kesey’s acid tests.
They carry a mean and sometimes frightening reputation and deservedly so. However I do believe that they as a group have gotten a bad rap (to a degree), or perhaps as a result of that reputation.
They were friends and got along without incident with Kesey, Garcia & the Grateful Dead, Owsley and Janis Joplin just to name a few.
Janis at one time went and screamed at the head guy for allowing some of the boys who at the time were allowed to go to her house (in Larkspur), at any time, to eat and drink everything and then leave. A few days later the house was restocked. Hardly the sort of thing that a group of compete thugs would do.
They volunteered the entire bike brigade during World war II, and it was my understanding that the fellow who got killed during the Stones free concert had first brandished a knife and tried to rush the stage. He was stopped and told to leave, he refused and was then escorted out. He then returned with a gun and was promptly put down …… for keeps.
I could be mistaken and I might have some of the details out of sequence, but I remember reading this rendition somewhere and it all made sense. Even at Woodstock, they had their black shirt group that was big, strong and packed just in case.
Outside of my comments here, I loved the article. You do great work thanks.